Efendi Travel offers an innovative half-day Istanbul city tour of the Süleymaniye Mosque, Chora Church, Pierre Loti Hill and Golden Horn, out-of-the-way Istanbul sights, for as little as €35 (here are exchange rates).
They pick you up at your hotel (Sultanahmet, Sirkeci, Beyazıt, Taksim, Cruise Port), drive to the Süleymaniye Mosque(largest in Istanbul), visit the mosque and explain how each imperial mosque had a külliye, or assemblage of charitable-works buildings around it: travelers’ hostel, hospital, soup kitchen, theological seminary, etc.
Then it’s off to the Church of the Holy Savior in Chora(Chora Church, Kariye Müzesi) where you see the splendid 12th-century Byzantine mosaics.
After driving along the 4th-century Byzantine City Walls, you go to the Pierre Loti Café on a hilltop overlooking the city and the Golden Horn, for a glass of tea or cup of Turkish coffee.
From there, you drive along the shores of the Golden Horn to Eminönü, where you can end your tour and explore the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, or board a TurYol Bosphorus ferry for a 1-1/2-hour Bosphorus cruise. Or you can stay in the vehicle and be dropped in Sultanahmet, as you wish.
Total tour time is 3-1/2 to 4 hours. The tour operates every day except Wednesday (when the Chora Church/Kariye Museum is closed.)
A licensed guide accompanies you to explain what you are seeing and make sure all goes smoothly.
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| The old City Walls before restoration… |
These sights are the ones most difficult to reach, and least visited by organized tours.
Here’s full information on the tour.
You may be interested in their Old Istanbul Guided Walking Tour and/or their various Bosphorus Cruise Tours as well. More…
And Efendi Travel knows how to do it! They’re the ones who operate the great-value-for-money private airport transfer service with comfortable Mercedes-Benz vans.
When you contact Efendi Travel to reserve your place on the tour, mention TTP. Here’s why.
| Efendi Travel Division of Fatih Seyahat Yeni Akbıyık Caddesi No: 30 Sultanahmet, Istanbul(map) Tel: +90 (212) 638 6343, or 638 6344, or 638 3746 Fax: +90 (212) 638 3922 info@efenditravel.com |
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—by Tom Brosnahan
| Old Istanbul Guided Walking Tour |  |
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